Google Chromebook Pixel: Up Close And Personal [PHOTOS]

Google announced its highest-end Chromebook yet on Thursday, called the Chromebook Pixel. From a hardware perspective, the Chromebook Pixel is like taking the powerful Retina Display from the new MacBook Pro and embedding it into the slim body of Apple’s lightweight MacBook Air.

Google originally made the Chromebook line to be a fast, affordable laptop alternative -- sure, it doesn’t feature Windows or Mac applications, but with Google’s Web-based family of applications, from its cloud service Google Drive to Gmail and Google Maps, the Mountain View, Calif., search giant believes the $249 Chromebook has everything most users want out of a laptop: a speedy experience and rich Web integration at a cheap price.

Unlike the company’s previous Chromebooks, the Chromebook Pixel was designed by Google to be “the best laptop possible, especially for power users who have fully embraced the cloud,” according to the company’s blog. Check out the photos of the new Chromebook Pixel below.

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The Google Chromebook Pixel features a 12.85-inch screen with a display resolution of 2560 x 1700, coming in at 239 pixels per inch, or ppi. Comparatively, Apple’s newest 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display features a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels at 227 ppi.

The Pixel measures 298 x 225 x 16 mm and weighs just 3.35 pounds, which is just a bit lighter than the 3.57-pound 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display. Apple’s wafer-thin MacBook Air, however, is still lighter than the Chromebook Pixel at just 2.38 pounds.

The Chromebook Pixel features a front-facing 720p HD camera, two USB 2.0 ports, a MiniDisplay Port and an SD/MMC card reader. The Chromebook Pixel is powered by an Intel dual-core i5 processor clocking in at 1.8 GHz and an integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 chip. The computer also comes with 32 GB of SSD (64GB on the pricier LTE model), as well as 4 GB of DDR3 RAM and a full terabyte on Google Drive’s cloud storage solution for three full years.

Extra goodies for buying the Chromebook Pixel, besides a terabyte of Google Drive storage, include 12 free sessions of GoGo Inflight Internet, as well as 100 free MB per month for two years on Verizon Wireless (if you buy the LTE model).

Google sells the Chromebook Pixel with 32 GB and Wi-Fi only connectivity for $1,299 and the Wi-Fi and LTE-equipped Pixel with 64 GB of SSD for $1,449. The computer is now available via Best Buy retail locations and the company’s own Google Play Store.